Southern Man Don't Need Him Around Anyhow
For All Nails #106: Southern Man Don't Need Him Around Anyhow by David Mix Barrington ---- :Excerpts from Closing Statements :Governor-General Candidates' Debate :8 August 1974 GOVERNOR SKINNER: ...the answer to the threat posed by Mexican military might, and the way to contain Mexican military might, is through a close relationship with reliable allies. We have always had a close military relationship with our cousins in the United Empire. The new government of New Granada has reached out in friendship and alliance with the United Empire, and they are ready to work closely with us. Although our primary interest with regard to South America is the containment of Mexican military might, we have just seen that our new friends are willing to act when necessary. We've all seen the pictures of those horrible facilities where the government of Grão Pará held those of its citizens that questioned its rule. We've all seen the pictures of the cheering crowds in Belem welcoming King Ferdinand as their liberator. My friends, our new friends are on the right side of history, as we will be in joining them. By contrast, our current government and our current Governor-General are on the wrong side of history. The center of his foreign policy, as he'll tell you himself, is faith in President Immanuel Moctezuma of the United States of Mexico. He says to us, "I trust this man, and the Confederation can trust this man." And so the Governor-General's made deal after deal with President Moctezuma, and thinks everything's fine. Now, my friends, I have yet to meet with President Moctezuma myself. I can't tell you whether I trust him or not as a man. But as the President of Mexico, my friends, I don't trust him an inch. Oh, he may very well be honestly looking out for his country's interests and be planning to keep his word. But my friends, can you tell me now how much of the Mexican government budget goes to what they call their "War Department"? Well, I can't tell you either, because we don't know how those Mexicans are keeping their account books. The CBI thinks that the War Department gets seventy percent of Mexico's tax dolars. And that War Department reports not to President Moctezuma, but to Secretary Mercator. And even though I have yet to meet the Secretary in person, I know about how far I'm willing to trust a hornswoggler like him . . . ...the sanctions bill that got us into this whole midterm elections mess was a big mistake. The Governor-General got riled up about this poor young man being killed, and he wanted to do something, and he went about to do the wrong thing with these sanctions. We should help the people of Victoria, my friends, and the way to help them is to work in conjunction with the United Empire. Our cousins can help guide the Victorians to the same kind of functioning democracy that they have and that we have, for all the people, white, Negro, or what have you, but they can only do that if they're in the country. You put a wall of sanctions around that country, my friends, and you're leaving the people inside to fight it out amongst themselves. And not only is that wrong, my friends, but we may not be happy with who wins . . . I honor the Governor-General for his eight years of service in his present office, and for a lifetime of service, honor, and achievement before that. But, my friends, it is time for him to go. He is a good man, but he's always put the economy of this country and the cleanliness of our air, our water, and our land behind his ideas of foreign policy. And now, my friends, that foreign policy is not working -- not in Boricua, not in Grão Pará, not in Victoria, and not with Mexico. It is time for the Governor General to go. And it is for that reason, my friends, that I humbly ask you, and the Liberal Party humbly asks you, for your vote next week. COUNCILMAN DEAN: . . . Both the so-called "major parties" offer the same tired answers to our problems -- power and coercion. Governor Skinner's "new friends" in London and Bogotá have overthrown a gang of murderers in Grão Pará, it is true. But we will soon see a new gang of murderers established in their place, as we have seen in Trinidad and in Quito, or we would have seen if access to those countries by the press were not rigidly controlled. Governor-General Monaghan has tried to use our military power to coerce the government of a small nation, Boricua -- the fact that he failed makes his action no less wrong. Governor-General Monaghan tried to use our economic power through starvation to coerce the warring sides in Victoria -- the fact that he failed makes his action no less wrong. Our might and power, my fellow citizens, should be not the power of the gun or of economic blackmail but the power of our moral leadership. The wealth we earn as a just and free nation should be used to help make the world more just and more free. Nearly twenty centuries ago a man in Palestine used his power to feed the hungry and heal the sick. Twenty years ago another man set our great nation on the task of feeding the hungry and healing the sick, and his heirs are doing that right now around the world in spite of this government's shameful reductions in his program . . . ...On our own shores the path of power and coercion has meant a complete lack of supervision for an out of control national police force, that has arrested citizens in the night without warrants, beaten suspects, broken into homes and offices like common thieves, and placed their illegal overhearing devices anywhere they've wanted. And these thugs of the CBI have not limited themselves to suspected criminals and subversives, no -- we can prove that in November of 1972 CBI agents broke into the offices of the Peace and Justice Party in Burgoyne, and planted overhearers there. Overhearers, my fellow citizens, that we found and turned over to the Pennsylvania Provincial Militia. But there has been no investigation, my fellow citizens, and the man that surely ordered this illegal burglary, former CBI director Timothy Liddy, is allegedly nowhere to be found . . . GOVERNOR-GENERAL MONAGHAN: Each of us have outlined in this debate our views of how our great nation can use its great power as a force for good in this world. The Councilman from New York has stressed the humanitarian work of the Mason Doctrine, which is all well and good as far as it goes. I yield to none in my admiration for those North Americans who are helping the needy around the world, and showing the world the true spirit of our nation. But good works alone are not a foreign policy, Councilman. There are those in this world who wish us ill, and many more with whom we have honest rivalries and honest differences of opinion. These conflicts must be resolved, in our favor where possible and peacefully otherwise. And this requires the use of all our strengths, not only moral but economic, diplomatic, and when necessary even military. We must be strong to thrive in this sometimes unpleasant world, but I fear that my other opponent is overly reliant on our military strength in preference to our other strengths. It is very easy, Governor, to align ourselves with militaristic nations and to applaud their victories. It is especially easy when those victories come over rulers like the late unlamented Regent of Grão Pará. But a policy of support for unilateral military action, Governor, will sooner or later result in unilateral military action on our part. I have ordered our young men into combat, Governor, when I thought it was necessary for our security. I will never do so lightly. There is a middle ground, my fellow North Americans, between the adventurism of Governor Skinner's new friends and the naive idealism of Councilman Dean. We must act in the world from a position of strength, military, economic, diplomatic, and, yes, Councilman, moral strength. We must seek allies among other nations who want stability in the world, not those who want to redraw borders to their own advantage. When there are problems in nations such as Grão Pará, we must deal with them multilaterally, in the service not of one nation or bloc of nations but in the service of the stability of the world, and the freedom and prosperity that is the only long-term source of that stability. My fellow North Americans, my administration has a long record of experience in foreign policy. It is not a perfect record, I admit, but it is a largely successful record and one that I am proud of. I believe that my teammates and I have earned the trust of the North American people, and I ask you next week to express that trust by giving your vote to the People's Coalition. Vote for a principled foreign policy, a measured foreign policy, a policy that can guide us to a more stable and peaceful world. Thank you, and my God bless the Confederation of North America. ---- :From the New York Herald, page 1 :17 August 1974 Final Results of National Election of 15 August 1974 FN1 confirmed late Liberal wins in [[Delaware] (NC) and New Boston (IN).] are indicated from [[A Near-Run Thing|1973 totals]. For purposes of computing the changes the 23 Peace and Justice councilmen from 1973 are divided into Reform and Justice and Masonist based on the councilman's position in the 1973 Dean-Levine leadership election. Also, nine "Green Dog" councilmen (8 in SC, 1 in NC) were elected as PC in 1973 and reelected as Liberals in 1974.] Thus Governor Lennart Skinner of Georgia will be elected Governor-General on the first ballot next week. ---- Forward to FAN #107: Trent's Fighting Airmobiles. Forward to 14 August 1974: Hanging on the Telephone. Forward to CNA Politics: Between the Rivers. Return to For All Nails. Category:CNA politics